Artist Statement

I'm happiest with a brush in my hand, and art quilts allow me a large- scale, exuberant canvas. Although visually abstract, my work constantly mines the daily life experiences of family, society and the natural world, with a hefty dose of music to guide the hand.

The imagery I use in my art quilts falls into several categories. Painterly quilts are abstract, expressionistic arrangements of color. Botanical imagery is derived from nature but not in a strict, illustrative approach. I tend to abstract natural imagery into lyrical compositions. The last category I often explore is pattern on pattern; often this has a more geometric arrangement.

I make a point of using only my own dyed fabrics in my art quilts. Occasionally, a piece of suitable, commercially printed fabric makes its way into the arrangement of backing fabrics, and the backing is often artistically interesting. I usually start out with white cotton broadcloth fabric. I employ Procion mx fiber reactive dyes for various techniques: hand painting, monoprinting, screen printing, batik or immersion dyeing. The fabrics are assembled and machine quilted; batting is 100% needle-punched cotton. Most of my works are fairly large in scale. Sometimes I'll work in modular form to achieve an even larger scale.

The Handwork Series: the India Cafe pays homage to the unseen hand in the events of artists' lives, -- the hand, too, that binds friendships amongst us. The screen print used in this piece is derived from drawings of fellow artists' hands. Barely visible from the front of the quilt, the hand is obvious on the reverse, making the quilt viewable from both sides. The color palette was inspired by many Friday lunches shared with artist friends at the India Cafe. It was also recently chosen as the cover illustration of the Fiberarts Design Book VI, a survey of contemporary fiber art, published in 1999 by Lark Books.

Bennett received her BFA in printmaking from Indiana University and has exhibited and taught at various locations throughout the country. She is a resident of Iowa City, Iowa and is the long time manager of Iowa Artisans Gallery.

Three Conversations

Summer Beach